Improvement in fire-escapes



ididih. Strut JOHN IVORY, OnNEw YORK, N. Y.

Letters Patent No. 112,714, dated March 14, 1871.

IMPROVEMENT IN FIRE-ESCAPES.

' lEL'l'ie Schedule'referre'd to in these LettersPatent and making partof the same.

I, JOHN IvoRY, of New York city, in the county of New York and State ofNew York, have invented certain Improvements in Portable-Ladders orFire-Escapes, of which the following is a specification.

Nature and Objects of the Invention.

My invention relatesto an improvement in ladders, formed in shortsections, connected together in such a manner and having theuprights ofsuch aform as to admit Aof their sections -being folded together, andrendered thereby portable and convenient in handling.

The object of my invention,

Is to furnish to cities a simple and compact portable refescape, whichmay be extended to any desired length, tov be used at short notice, orfolded up and put away in the same bou which ineases the hydrant on thesidewalk of a city.

Description of Accompanying Drawing.

Figure 1 is a front elevation. Figure 2 is a longitudinal section online scat.v Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of ladder folded foldedin thelbox.

General Description.

The sections or joints are numbered l 2 3, commencing at the bottom orfoot of the ladder.

A AA" are the uprights orsides of theladder, formed of wrought metal,suiiciently thick to give the required strength, and at the same timethin enough to avoid unnecessary-weight.

These uprights, in the sections 2 and 3, have shanks B at their lower`ends, forming offsets -from the'right lines of the nprights, as seen indrawing, to allow the several sections to lie vclosely together whenfolded.

Notches may be formed inthe upright-s, if necessary, to receive therounds ot' the ladder, as seen at f, in tig. 3.

1n the shanks B are formed slots, a, to receive the upper rounds G, andto allow a free and unobstructed movement of the Vrounds withinthem.

The rounds C have\on either side an enlargement or shoulder, d, at adistance from the uprights just equal to their thickness, so that whenthe ladder is extended and ready foi' use the several sections. areprevented from moving laterally, and the structure thereby gains instrength and firmness.

Figure 4 is a vertical-section, showing the ladderA At the ends 'of theshanks B are formed notches, b, to straddle or clutch the rounds c, andto serve, to-

gether with the slots a, to form a perfect joint, to'

keep the sections from folding while the extended ladder is being used.

The rounds G are to be of metal, either solidv or hollow, to give themstrength to lbear the weight and strain they may be subjected to whilein actual service. Y

' The other, rounds, Gand e, may be of wood or other suitable material.

Section l of the ladder is-constructed with the greatest width betweentheuprights, to'give a broad footing to the structure, as well as toallow the uprightsof Section 2 to lit snugly within those of y seo. l.

VSection 3 is narrower than sec. 2, to allow it to fit snugly within itsuprights, and so on with each upper section.

The nprights of' all the sections areparallel.

I construct my ladder or lire-escape lin lsections of about siX'eeteach, so that when they are all folded together they may be contained inthe saine box with a hydrant ou the sidewalk, without forming much of anobstruction to pedestrians.

.I show in fig. 4 the application-0f the ladder to its case or box"withthe hydrant ordre-plug; said box is three feet high above the sidewalk,and about the same distance under ground.

The convenience and advantage that such an arrangement would give to acity in easeof a fire is very apparent, as, at a very short notice, thebox might be unlocked and the ladder taken out, adj usted, and used tothe, salvation of human life, as well as valuables, that might otherwisebe destroyed before the tire-departlnent could arrive on the spot.

I I use in my ladder the slot and clutch, which I am perfectly aware isnot new, as combined with the uprights of extension-ladders andtherounds oi' the same; butit will be observed th'atl use these featuresiiifcoinbi/nation with the shank B, by means of which I am enabled tofold my ladder into a very small space.

Two persons may unfold my ladder by seizing the extreme upper and lowerrounds and drawing in opposite directions, until the lower ends of theslots come in contact with the upper rounds ofthe seetions; the jointsor sections are then pressed separately together, until their clutchesgrasp the rounds e, andthe rounds C come in cont-'act with the upperbearings of the slots.

The ladder may be raised bodily, in the usual I claimmanner, against thehouse, when it is,to be used, The Shanks or odset-s B B of the lowerends of without having 'to be secured in its joints by hooks, the uppersections of the ladder, having slots' a a, loops, sockets, Src.,`as isthe case with folding or port and notches b b in them, in com hinationwith the able ladders now in use. I .rounds AC and e, as described, andforthe purpose If only apart of the ladder is needed, the lower setforth. section or sections may he drawn out, forming, JOHN IVORY. with'the rest, an obtuse angle', and stretched upon `XVitnesses: the ground,to form a steady base to the part Abeing-l EDW. W. Domr,

used. A. MOORE.

